Greyscalegorilla Podcast: Comparing Talent and Copying Your Heroes

TOPIC: How to deal with other’s talent, choosing your software and hardware without being an internet jerk, and why copying might be the best thing you can do to learn as long as it doesn’t end up on your reel.

Hey Nick!
Haven’t had the time to hear the podcast yet, but that surely is an interesting topic. You’ve often underlined your position about copying and putting other people’s stuff in your reel and you once also expressed yourself a bit offensively towards “biters” : ) .
I agree, in the sense that, it’s no good to feature other people’s ideas on your reel as if they were your own and… most of all it makes you feel like a jerk. But consider this. I once had a completely different job and was about to lose it cause of the crisis, the market and you name it. I was also very tired of doing that job which got me frustrated and unhappy. So I started digging into motion g. and all that fun stuff…and with absolutely nothing to lose, one summer I started working on a reel (all spec work) and some of the stuff in it was based on tutorials. My thought was that I needed material to show, it had to look good, and most of all, I needed a job and money to support my family asap. I sent the reel out to friends and corporates and luckily started working immediately. I managed to handle the situation and a couple of months later, before they could fire me, I quit my old job. Priceless satisfaction!! Today, almost 3 years later I’m running my own company producing videos that imply motion g, compositing, 3d animation and so on. I eventually stopped using the old reel to present my work, but I wouldn’t have achieved anything without it. How about that? It’s true that the people who work in the industry will spot you if you feature tutorials in your reel, but not all potential clients (actually almost none of them) are into animation, etc.. So I think that if you’re looking for work in a post production studio or whatever, then well…you gotta do some homework and clean up your reel but otherwise, if you’re starting out, desperate for a job ( why not one you’d really like!) and your intention is to work as a freelance directly for brands… well then you gotta get slick! Of course there’s always a boundary that once crossed turns you into a sucker 4 life. Just my opinion. Anyhow…
I don’t know if you can imagine the help you’ve been giving people. That’s not just about Motion. G.. So if putting one of your tuts in one’s reel made a real difference in his life, well then I think you should just be proud of it.
Sorry if this was a bit off topic, like I said, I haven’t had a chance to hear the podcast yet.
Oh BTW you misspelled texture in your texture kit banner.
Cheers Nick!
G.G.

http://vimeo.com/52024416
This intro is freaking genius. Would you make a tutorial of the basics to do a similar tinhg? How to make does 3D effects and all the camera angles? See the video, it’s ery impressive!

Thank you so much for all your Greyscale Gorilla tips, talks and techniques. This podcast was really interesting, inspiring and hit home. One of the best podcasts I’ve listened to yet. I’m always a fan of the work posted on the GSG wall, a truly fantastic community of learning and sharing. Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Hello Nick, i found this cool animation effect on a logo here it ishttp://vimeo.com/15129320#at=0
but i can’t get to the bottom of this i have made the effect using splines and bend deformer, and i have tried to scale the animation effect to the letters size and dept, but still i think is not the way that this was done and i got stuck. I was wondering if you got 10 sec. to take a look at the animation and maybe you got some idea. Thank You!